It Turns Out Americans Can Smoothly File Their Taxes Without Thousands Of IRS Bureaucrats
'It seems to be business as usual'
Will we EVER get a USAID refund?
As Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency work to expose the millions of taxpayer dollars wasted through government agencies like USAID, many Americans have been left wondering when they might see a refund.
Some even hope that President Donald Trump might actually abolish income tax.
“I’m with you, I just don’t think that one is actually going to happen yet,” Jill Savage of “Blaze News Tonight” tells Matthew Peterson. “We can go through, we can audit the IRS, we can audit the Fed, the Pentagon.”
“I’m with you, but I think at some point we still have to pay taxes,” she adds.
“The important thing here,” Peterson chimes in, “is people are really thinking hard, and it’s because it’s being smashed into their face, just how they’re being hijacked. I mean, the government is hijacking your resources to support things to increase leftist power and that’s not OK. I mean, the American Revolution was fought for less.”
“I think that’s the right attitude. The right attitude is, it is your money, this is your country, and we are citizens in a republic. And if we are, then we’re not serfs in some kind of lefty empire, and that has to be put, done, and over with,” he continues.
While Peterson doesn’t think Trump will flat out abolish the income tax, he does believe there will be “changes to the tax code, even beyond what Trump has proposed.”
He also doesn’t believe we should completely abolish the income tax.
“Don’t let the fact that the left has used this money, they wasted a ton of money, first off, but don’t let the fact that they used it for ridiculous trans operas in Colombia take your eyes off the fact that we need to award artists here who are actually making beautiful things, and they exist,” Peterson says.
“There is a role for civic institutions to play in supporting things that are actually true, good, and beautiful,” he adds.
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How Trump’s 15% tax plan could UNLEASH American prosperity
President Trump is working on a plan to lower corporate tax rates to 15% for companies that make their products in the United States — and Trump’s informal economic adviser and Committee to Unleash Prosperity co-founder Stephen Moore believes it’s a great plan.
“What Trump is basically talking about, which I think is a really interesting idea, is not necessarily getting rid of the income tax, but lowering all the tax rates to 15%,” Moore tells Glenn Beck of “The Glenn Beck Program.”
“I broached with Trump the other day, this idea of 15, 15, 15. So how about if we have a 15% corporate rate, a 15% individual income tax rate, a 15% universal tariff, a 15% capital gains dividend,” he continues. “Can you imagine that?”
“It would unleash prosperity like nobody’s business,” Glenn agrees.
However, some Americans are still rightfully concerned that tariffs are just another tax on an already heavily taxed population.
“What he wants to do is charge a 15% tax on things that are made in China, or Europe, or Japan, but if it’s made in Michigan or Ohio or Pennsylvania or California or Maine, he wants to have the rate 15%,” Moore explains.
“What I’m saying is you’re going to pay 15% income tax if it’s made in the United States. In other words, the profits you make on selling something, let’s say you make widgets, and you make a profit on making those widgets in Pennsylvania, wherever it is, you’re only going to pay a 15% income to buy that product if it’s made in America,” he continues.
“So what you’re trying to do is skew the table a little bit more in favor of buying things made in the U.S. versus other countries,” he says, adding, “And by the way, that’s what all other countries do to us.”
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‘It’s not the tariff he wants’: Why Trump’s tariffs are no reason to freak out
It’s no secret that President Donald Trump loves tariffs, nor is it a secret that his detractors — and even many of his voters — are absolutely terrified of them.
However, without flinching, the president has imposed tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China.
“The extraordinary threat posed by illegal aliens and drugs, including deadly fentanyl, constitutes a national emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Until the crisis is alleviated, President Donald J. Trump is implementing a 25% additional tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% additional tariff on imports from China. Energy resources from Canada will have a lower 10% tariff,” read a statement from the White House.
Always the voice of reason, Stu Burguiere of “Stu Does America” is thankfully here to explain why it might not be as big a deal as we think.
“Trump knows — he understands tariffs really well. In fact, this is one of his most consistent beliefs throughout his entire life. If you go back to the '80s, he’s pro-choice and a bunch of other stuff that he doesn’t really agree with now, but he was always pro-tariff,” Stu explains.
“Anybody that’s against Tariffs, including the Fake News Wall Street Journal, and Hedge Funds, is only against them because these people or entities are controlled by China, or other foreign or domestic companies. Anybody that loves and believes in the United States of America is in favor of Tariffs. They should have never ended, in favor of the Income Tax System, in 1913. The response to Tariffs has been FANTASTIC!” Trump posted to his followers on Truth Social.
As someone who's against tariffs, Stu disagrees with Trump's statement — though it doesn't scare him.
“While I don’t like tariffs, it doesn’t freak me out that much,” Stu comments, noting that President Trump has paused the tariffs on Mexico for one month after an agreement on border troops he’s struck with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico.
“This is why I don’t get freaked out about this stuff. You know what Donald Trump is doing. Everyone knows. We all went through a presidency before. He likes to use these tools to get other things,” he continues. “It’s not the tariff that he wants; he wants something else.”
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Republican Buddy Carter introduces bill to eliminate IRS and income tax — but replace it with 23% national sales tax
Rep. Earl "Buddy" Carter (R-Ga.) introduced the FairTax Act of 2025, aimed at abolishing the Internal Revenue Service.
Not only would the new act eliminate the IRS if passed, but it would also repeal the federal income tax.
A fact sheet from Carter's office sent to the Washington Examiner stated that the legislation would capture "the underground economy, tourism dollars, and purchases made by illegal immigrants."
This would allegedly be accomplished by implementing a 23% national sales tax, with some exceptions.
'As long as they’re here, they should be taxed.'
"The FairTax will have widespread benefits throughout our economy, not the least of which is forcing illegal immigrants to pay their fair share in taxes," Carter told the Examiner. "This will eliminate instances of illegal immigrants using taxpayer-funded resources without paying into the system while also empowering Americans to choose their tax rate."
It is unclear what the congressman meant by Americans choosing their tax rate.
The Georgia representative reinforced that he still supports the remigration of illegal aliens at the same time.
"I'm all for the repatriation of illegal immigrants, but as long as they’re here, they should be taxed," Carter added.
Taxing illegal immigrants is not specifically mentioned in the act, however, as it would be seemingly impossible to implement on an individual basis.
Under the FairTax Act of 2025, there would some exceptions for the new sales tax. Exceptions included the sale of used and "intangible property" and property purchased for business, government, export, or investment purposes.
The law would also carve out the opportunity for "lawful U.S. residents" to receive a monthly sales tax rebate based on a specific set of criteria related to income and family size.
The bill was originally introduced in 2023 but did not move.
The summary of that bill stated that the tax rate (starting at 23%) would be adjusted "in subsequent years."
At the same time, the bill "terminates the national sales tax if the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution (authorizing an income tax) is not repealed within seven years after the enactment of this bill."
This would mean that the 23% tax is effectively a seven-year tax that theoretically results in no sales tax at all after that period.
The bill's original text made several claims that the federal income tax stymies economic growth and "has reduced the standard of living of the American public."
Blaze News contacted the Trump administration transition team for comment on the legislation; this article will be updated with any applicable responses.
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‘Rocket fuel for the economy’: Why Trump’s plan to raise tariffs and abolish income tax is brilliant
In Donald Trump’s bombshell interview on "The Joe Rogan Experience," the president-elect floated the idea of abolishing the income tax as well as raising tariffs.
While Glenn Beck has historically been against heavy tariffs, Trump may have won “The Glenn Beck Program” host over with his explanation.
“I’ve always been against tariffs; however, I might be wrong,” Glenn says. “Donald Trump is making a good case when he’s talking about getting rid of the income tax because tariffs will raise the prices of things, especially if he does it the way he’s talking about doing it.”
However, if Trump lowers the income tax simultaneously, the economy would boom.
“We could make up that deficit and become a very powerful nation again. Tell me I’m wrong,” Glenn challenges economic expert and Heritage Foundation visiting fellow Peter St Onge.
“That’s absolutely correct,” St Onge replies. “The vast majority of economists go after tariffs, they attack Trump over tariffs, and I think they are looking at the trees for the forest here.”
“If you replace a tariff, which is basically a sales tax, but it’s one that focuses on imported goods, if you replace that with either reducing or, in our dream scenario, abolishing the entire income tax, it is absolutely rocket fuel for the economy,” he explains, noting that Trump’s plan is reminiscent of the 1800s.
“That was before we had an income tax, was also before we had a Fed, and back then, the federal government had to live off tariffs,” St Onge says. “That was the greatest period not only of economic growth but of cultural achievement.”
“It was really the golden age of humanity, and the key there was that we did not have an income tax, we did not have a regulatory state, we did not have a Fed. So if Trump can take us back there, and all we have to do is like an 8% sales tax on Chinese stocks, that is the deal of the century,” he adds.
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Why The American Founders Would Adore Trump’s Tariffs Plan
What Donald Trump told Joe Rogan is correct: tariffs are the best way to raise federal revenue in a constitutional system like ours.Trump targets NO INCOME TAX in final election push — but is it possible?
Last week the mother of all interviews happened when Donald Trump, arguably the most famous man on the planet, appeared on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” the top-ranked podcast on the planet.
In their three-hour interview, Rogan and Trump broached a number of issues, but one that’s getting a ton of media attention is Trump’s reiterated claims that he will potentially end income taxes by substituting tariffs.
Glenn Beck and Stu Burguiere discuss the possibility of such a drastic change to America’s tax infrastructure.
As for repealing the 16th Amendment, Stu says, “I am a huge fan.”
Glenn shares Stu’s enthusiasm and thinks that “it’s the right time” to do it.
“[Trump] is talking about tariffs in a different way. … You build your cars outside of the United States? Okay, we're going to put a tariff on it to keep cars that are made here in the United States cheaper,” says Glenn, adding that this is the first time he’s ever “started to agree with tariffs.”
“We must rebuild our infrastructure. We have to have manufacturing here in America,” he says, pointing to the fact that America “made the planes and the tanks and the Jeeps … that brought the whole world into Germany” during WWII.
“Tariffs have a chance of saying, ‘Look, you want to sell your stuff? Fine, make it in America. … We'll give you incentives to bring your company, your manufacturing here so we have these plants, we are producing our own steel, we're doing these things.' Meanwhile, we're also going to drill, baby, drill," which will “bring our energy costs down,” Glenn explains.
While Stu doesn’t love the idea of tariffs, he does love what they would do to the magnitude of our current federal government.
“The size of the government that would be required for a government to be funded by tariffs is the size of a government I like,” he says, adding that “it’s a lot smaller than the one we have.”
“Yes!” Glenn agrees. “We were all about that up until the 16th Amendment.”
However, the question still remains: Will Trump actually do it?
Even though almost all politicians promise tax cuts leading up to an election, Glenn thinks Trump “is actually going to do a lot of these things” he’s talked about during his campaign, as long as “he has the Senate and the House.”
But he also has to “turn it around quickly.”
To hear more of the conversation, watch the clip above.
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Trump doubles down on possible federal income tax overhaul during Rogan interview: 'This country can become rich'
Former President Donald Trump doubled down on his plan to consider eliminating federal income taxes by replacing them with tariffs.
During a podcast interview with Joe Rogan released on Friday, Trump stated that the "most beautiful word" is "tariff."
"It's more beautiful than love; it's more beautiful than anything," Trump told Rogan. "This country can become rich with the use — the proper use — of tariffs."
'We were so rich because we were taxing other people for coming in and taking our jobs.'
In 2018, the former president imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum.
When Rogan asked whether he is "serious" about the possible elimination of federal income taxes, Trump responded, "Yeah, sure. Why not?"
Last week, during a town hall segment with Fox News at a barbershop in the Bronx, Trump was asked whether it would be possible to do away with federal income taxes, Blaze News previously reported.
"There is a way," Trump responded, adding that in the 1890s, the United States relied on tariffs and did not have a federal income tax.
"Now we have income taxes, and we have people that are dying, they're paying tax, and they don't have the money to pay the tax," he continued. "No, there is a way if what I'm planning comes out."
On Friday, Trump repeated similar comments to Rogan, confirming that it is possible to replace income taxes with tariffs.
He told Rogan, "Our country was the richest, relatively, in the 1880s and 1890s. A president who was assassinated, named [William] McKinley, he was the tariff king."
"He spoke beautifully of tariffs. His language was really beautiful," Trump explained. "'We will not allow the enemy to come in and take our jobs and take our factories and take our workers and take our families unless they pay a big price. And the big price is tariffs.' And he'd speak like that, but he was right."
Trump continued, "And then around the early 1900s, they switched over, stupidly, to frankly an income tax. And you know why? Because countries were putting a lot of pressure on America, 'We don't want to pay tariffs. Please don't.'"
Trump stated that foreign countries are controlling U.S. politicians.
"We had a commission meeting in the, I think it was 1887," he stated. "Think of this problem: We were so rich, we had so much money, we didn't know what to do. So, they set up a blue-ribbon commission on tariffs, and the sole purpose was what to do with all the money we had. We were so rich because we were taxing other people for coming in and taking our jobs."
Trump noted that China relies on tariffs.
"If you want to own a factory and sell cars, if you build a factory here or have a factory, they don't take our cars," he said of China. "They wouldn't take our cars. But if you build a plant in China, you can do that."
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The end of the IRS? Trump considers biggest tax overhaul yet
As Election Day approaches, former President Donald Trump told voters that he believes he could pave the way for the elimination of federal income taxes.
On Monday, Trump participated in a town hall segment with Fox News at a barbershop in the Bronx, where he answered questions from the business' owner, employees, and patrons.
'There is a way if what I'm planning comes out.'
One individual told Trump that his biggest concern is that his two children and future generations will not be able to obtain the American dream because of oppressive over-taxation.
"When it comes to federal taxes, I'm sure you're going to start back up the pipeline, the Keystone Pipeline, which is going to generate an abundance of revenue. Also, with the tariffs that you've spoken of," he told Trump.
He asked, "With all this extra revenue that we're going to be bringing into the country, do you believe that at some point in time, we could find a way — once the country's back on its feet and getting enough revenue and pays off our debt — do you think it's possible to find a way to eliminate federal taxes?"
Trump replied emphatically, "There is a way."
He stated that in the 1890s, the United States relied on tariffs and did not have a federal income tax.
"Now we have income taxes, and we have people that are dying, they're paying tax, and they don't have the money to pay the tax," Trump continued. "In the old days, 1890, 1880, we had so much money they had to set up committees, blue-ribbon committees, how to spend our wealth. We had no idea how to spend it; it was so much money. Then we went to the income tax system, and the rest is sort of history."
"No, there is a way if what I'm planning comes out," Trump added.
The former president has already stated that he supports abolishing the federal income tax on tips, overtime pay, and Social Security.
The United States, for the first time, briefly imposed a 3%-5 income tax from 1862 to 1872 to cover the cost of the Civil War.
W. Elliot Brownlee, a historian of tax policy at the University of California, Santa Barbara, told the New York Times that the U.S. adopted "a mass-based income tax for the first time during World War II."
From 1868 to 1913, approximately 90% of all revenue was generated from liquor, beer, wine, and tobacco taxes. Currently, income taxes generate 94% of the federal government's revenue, while tariffs make up just 2%.
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